About

Past Issues Of Wildflower Magazine

Wildflower is published quarterly by the Wildflower Center. Its content is national in scope with articles about the conservation and use of native plants as well as news from the Wildflower Center. A subscription is provided to Wildflower Center members as a benefit of membership.

Letter from the Editor - Spring 2003

My earliest childhood memory is of visiting St. Louis' Missouri Botanical Garden with my family each spring. I remember these visits as far back as when I was 4 and recall the crisp spring weather, beautiful blooms, and crowds of people - who each year seemed happier than the last that spring had finally come.

It's hard to say why among all others this memory is so fresh in my mind. It could be the notoriety of the famous garden or the warm weather or the time spent with family. Whatever it is I'm sure it's not unique that my first memory is of spring.

It seems that no matter where we are we fervently await spring for its embodiment of nature. Whether it's for visiting public gardens, taking daytrips through the countryside, or tending to our own gardens, spring is a season we all embrace.

For this, I have anxiously awaited the creation of my first spring issue as the editor of Native Plants. I was eager to publish a photographic essay of noteworthy scenic routes nationwide from which to view native spring wildflowers ("Fields of Vision," page 18). This spring we introduce another article about pollinators and native plants - this one focused on hummingbirds ("Hum's the Word," page 12), and we begin a tradition of profiling landscape architects who advocate the use of those plants native to the regions in which they work, this time Maryland's John Gutting ("A Philosophical Nature," page 24).

As the Wildflower Center staff prepares for its busiest visitor season and its many spring educational programs, we introduce more articles focused on garden education than ever before. In "For Every Season," (page 11) we teach you the top three things to do for your garden in springtime, and "The Root of the Matter," (page 31) shows you what steps to take to plant your potted native plants.

We hope you welcome spring as do we, and we hope this issue that celebrates the season brings to mind cherished spring memories and helps you make new ones. Enjoy!